Are users always right? In discussions with business analysts all over the world, the continuing refrain I hear is that the business analyst makes sure the users get what they want or need. Sometimes this is phrased as the business rather than the user. In any case, I wonder about the absolute power of the user or the business. The implication that the business and/or user always knows exactly what to do and what they want is somewhat spurious to me, and diminishes the value of the business analyst.

There is also the issue when one user demands a specific interface to make the job easier, and another user demands an equally good but different interface. Certainly code could be written to accommodate all users’ peccadilloes. Where then is the line between the extra code written and subsequent cost of maintenance to accommodate all the users? Does one user get preference over others? Majority wins? All users are created equal, just some users are more equal?  ¶ 6:08 PM